Tree Frog Forestry News

Daily Archives: August 20, 2013

Froggy Foibles

The Last Tree for Orangutans

Huffington Post

August 19, 2013

Category: Froggy Foibles

Region: International

Love orangutans? Then today — World Orangutan Day, Aug. 19 — is a day for you to celebrate. Orangutans are the only great ape in Asia and among the rarest primate on Earth. Once spread throughout the forests of Southeast Asia, they are now found only on the island of Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo, and few places in Malaysia. Orangutans are in trouble because of habitat loss. They live in and need trees, but their natural forests are being converted to palm oil plantations and coal mines at an unsustainable rate.

Business & Politics

Crews battle fire at mill

Blaze shuts down operations

Peak Online

August 19, 2013

Category: Business & Politics

Region: Canada, Canada West

Powell River firefighters extinguished a fire at Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Powell River mill Sunday evening, August 18. Dan Ouellette, Powell River’s fire chief, said about 25 members, essentially the whole department, responded to a call around 6:30 pm. “It was fairly intense to start with, but we knocked it down fairly quickly,” he said. The fire was located next to the TMP (thermal mechanical pulp) plant, Ouellette said, which produces most of the fiber for the mill. “

Western Forest Products Inc. Confirms Record Date on Previously Announced Dividend

Wall Street Journal

August 19, 2013

Category: Business & Politics

Region: Canada, Canada West

Western Forest Products is pleased to confirm that the previously announced quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share will be paid to shareholders of record as at the close of business on Friday, August 30, 2013 and will be distributed on Friday, September 20, 2013. The dividend will return a portion of the Company’s net cash to shareholders, after taking into consideration the Company’s liquidity and ongoing capital needs.

Harmac begins pumping power into B.C. Hydro electrical grid

Nanaimo Daily News

August 19, 2013

Category: Business & Politics

Region: Canada, Canada West

The Harmac pulp mill has begun feeding power from its new $45-million electrical generation plant to B.C. Hydro, creating a second major revenue source to the Nanaimo mill for the first time in its more than 50-year history. The project marks the final phase of the five-year initiative begun by Nanaimo Forest Products, Harmac’s owners since 2008, to engage in major projects to upgrade the aging mill’s systems and make its operations as green as possible.

Catalyst names B.C. industry veteran as CEO in challenging times

Joe Nemeth, former Canfor Pulp chief, to take helm Oct. 1

Vancouver Sun

August 20, 2013

Category: Business & Politics

Region: Canada, Canada West

With his appointment as Catalyst Paper Corp.’s CEO, pulp-and-paperindustry veteran Joe Nemeth will take over a company still struggling following a major restructuring under bankruptcy protection in an industry challenged by declining demand in traditional markets. Nemeth, who officially takes over from Catalyst’s interim CEO Leslie Lederer Oct. 1, last served as CEO of Canfor Pulp Products Inc. He stepped down from that position last year as the firm’s management was merged with that of its parent firm, Canfor Corp.

CORNER BROOK The union representing loggers and silviculture workers employed by Corner Brook Pulp and Paper have reached and ratified a new collective agreement, though by only a slim majority. The negotiating team representing Local 60N of the Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union reached a tentative deal with the paper company July 26. In a subsequent series of ratification meetings held in Gander, Deer Lake and Corner Brook, the roughly 300 members of Local 60N accepted the deal with 56 per cent of the votes cast in agreement.

ASHLAND, Maine — A new sawmill in central Aroostook County is predicted to translate into 60 permanent jobs according to officials with J.D. Irving, Ltd., which announced Monday plans to invest $30 million into a state-of-the-art softwood facility. An additional 50 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the project, according to Monday’s release. “We are committed to growing jobs and opportunities in Maine,” said Gaston Poitras, Irving’s vice president of sawmills. “This new mill at Ashland will deliver new jobs and the best technology for the workers, and will be sustained by a wood supply from Maine producers.”

China has surpassed Japan to become the world’s largest importer of hardwood chips

Wood Resources International

August 19, 2013

Category: Business & Politics

Region: International

Major expansion of pulp manufacturing capacity in China the past five years has resulted in a dramatic increase in the importation of wood chips to supply the new pulp mills, and the country became the world’s largest importer of hardwood chips in the 2Q/13, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are the major suppliers of wood chips, with Vietnam accounting for over 50% of the imported supply. Seattle, USA. Growing demand for paper in China has not only forced the country to import large volumes of pulp to supply the country’s paper machines, but also resulted in investments in new pulp production within China.

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Engineering programs welcomed

The Prince George Citizen

August 19, 2013

Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building

Region: Canada, Canada West

The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC applauds the announcement of B.C. government funding to the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) to develop two new masters programs in wood engineering and design. These programs will be offered at the new Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George… The addition of skills training opportunities in northern B.C. is an important step forward in positioning British Columbia as a leader in wood engineering and innovation.

Forestry

Clayoquot Sound — it’s not just about the trees

by Dan Lewis, Executive Director of Clayoquot Action

Victoria Times Colonist

August 16, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: Canada, Canada West

Twenty years ago, environmentally minded citizens flocked to the Clayoquot Peace Camp to put an end to logging of the iconic ancient temperate rainforests of Clayoquot Sound. Twelve thousand people attended, and by the end of Clayoquot Summer, 856 people had been arrested in the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. . …The logging of ancient forests has never actually stopped in Clayoquot Sound. The rate of cutting has slowed, but raw logs are still being exported with no value added. Now, in addition to logging, there are several new threats: mining, fish farms and oil spills.

Learning how to log for fun and profit

August 20, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: Canada, Canada West

In a corner of northern Vancouver Island, prospective loggers are learning how to climb trees, set tail blocks and choke logs. The area is called “the playground,” but the training is serious business. Not only are the students learning how to do a dangerous job safely under the watchful eyes of trainers, they’re being paid by a B.C. forestry company while they complete the seven-week course, with a high likelihood they’ll later be hired. Western Forest Products (WFP) began offering the seven-week course in September 2012 and has thus far trained 18 students. The company has since hired 14 of those graduates.

Fight for your right to harvest timber

The Daily Observer

August 17, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: Canada East, Canada

Renfrew County officials are expressing continued concern over the province’s decision to extend the amount of land unavailable for forestry by almost 100,000 hectares. …For Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet, the announcement smacks of the same preferential treatment that he has seen southern Ontario given by the government stretching back to when he was warden of the county. …“(There were only) 10 complaints out of a million visitors that were related to logging,” he told committee. “Logging is beneficial to the park; it’s not detrimental to the park.

MNR on forest fires, fire hazard, hunting safety

Kenora Online

August 19, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: Canada East, Canada

The MNR have released an update on new and currently active fires in the Northwestern Ontario region. They have also noted the fire hazard in the area, and hunting safety… The forest fire hazard is currently high, but rain in the up-coming weather forecasts should fluctuate the hazard in the days ahead.

Forests are reviving after assault of the mountain pine beetle

WyomingNews.com

August 19, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: United States, US West

Everywhere you look, new life is sprouting. However, recovery will take a long time and dead trees pose more than one hazard. Look up and the view is depressing: Nothing but gray skeletons of once-green pine trees. Red needles still cling to a few of the trees whose lives were devoured by mountain pine beetles. Even these will join the grey sentinels soon enough. But look down. There are yellow arnica, purple wild geranium and dense green snowberry. There are even young pine trees poking through the soil, ranging in height from just a couple inches to a couple feet.

Strong winds fan wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge, force evacuation of some residents

Associated Press

August 20, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: United States, US West

THE DALLES, Ore. – Strong winds in the Columbia River Gorge fanned an Oregon wildfire burning across nearly 8 square miles, forcing the evacuation of dozens of buildings Monday while other residents waited to hear if they were going to have to leave. The Government Flats Complex of fires was burning in hilly country near The Dalles, a Columbia River city that’s a favourite hangout for windsurfers. Officials said about 55 structures were ordered evacuated.

Drones can change the fight against wildfires

CNN Money

August 19, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: United States, US West

In their losing battle against wildfires, drones could be a firefighter’s ace in the hole. Wildfires have grown in number and size, but fighting them has remained an old-school game that sometimes relies on paper maps and gut feelings. Accessing new technology in rural areas where forest fires rage has been a challenge, but the use of new unmanned drones could drastically change the nature of the fight. “We can get more information for less cost, and it doesn’t put anyone in harm’s way,” said Sher Schranz, a project manager at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who researches fire weather modeling.

Mandatory evacuation ordered for residents of another Idaho mountain town

Idaho Statesman

August 19, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: United States, US West

ATLANTA, IDAHO — Residents of Atlanta will be under a mandatory evacuation order beginning at noon Monday because of the 2,000-acre Little Queens Fire burning near the town. The Little Queens Fire is believed to be human-caused and was burning six miles northwest of Atlanta on Sunday night. The blaze was originally burning north away from the town, but that changed Sunday, a U.S. Forest Service Official said.

Sierra foothills wildfire leads to forest closure

Daily Democrat

August 17, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: United States, US West

SACRAMENTO – The U.S. Forest Service has ordered an emergency closure for portions of the Tahoe National Forest near a remote Northern California wildfire that has burned more than 15 square miles of steep, wooded terrain. Heavy smoke from the fire 10 miles northeast of Foresthill at times has blanketed portions of the Sierra Nevada foothills, the Sacramento Valley and stretched to Lake Tahoe.

Logs rolled off a truck along Oregon 204 near Tollgate in Umatilla County and hit two vehicles, killing one person Monday. The log truck was traveling east about 12:25 p.m. near milepost 19 when the logs came off the trailer while the truck was traveling through a curve, state police said. The truck and trailer roll onto the side when the logs got loose. At least one other person was injured in the incident, police said. The log truck driver sustained minor injuries.

West’s record wildfires raise questions about development

USA Today

August 19, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: United States, US West

Will wildfires grow ever bigger, more frequent — and deadlier? Those who live in the rugged West are enduring another summer of scorched-earth devastation. …Nationwide, the six worst fire seasons since 1960 have burned in the past 13 years. That includes 2012, when 9.2 million acres went up in flames. The worst year was 2006, when 9.8 million acres burned. …”There just aren’t financial repercussions for building in dangerous zones,” Rasker said. “You solve that problem and the others will fall into place.”

Motion tabled to scuttle the forest peace deal

ABC News

August 20, 2013

Category: Forestry

Region: International

Upper House MP Paul Harriss has tabled a motion in State Parliament to kill off the historic forest peace deal. Paul Harriss tabled the motion this morning, but he adjourned debate until the government details how it will fix problems with the agreement. A progress report last month revealed a critical shortage of wood was hampering the deal’s success. Delays in closing sawmills were blamed.

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Canada supports global carbon pricing: government records

The Province

August 19, 2013

Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Region: Canada

OTTAWA — Canada supports putting a price on carbon emissions as part of a global climate change strategy, say newly released records prepared at the highest levels of the federal government. Documents obtained from the Privy Council Office and Environment Canada show that, despite the fact the Harper Conservatives have repeatedly criticized the idea of a carbon tax and the NDP’s backing for such a scheme, the federal government has supported a different form of carbon pricing… They also say: “Canada supports the development of new market-based mechanisms that expand the scale and scope of carbon markets.”

BC Forest Carbon Partnership signs first contract

HQPrinceGeorge.com

August 19, 2013

Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Region: Canada, Canada West

The newly created BC Forest Carbon Partnership has secured its first contract to re-plant damaged forest. The collaboration between the Carbon Offset Aggregation Cooperative and the province aims to re-seed areas of forest damaged by fire or the mountain pine beetle. Cooperative CEO MaryAnne Arcand calls it a watershed moment. “We’re very excited, we just reached an agreement with Tree Canada, with up to 20 hectares in the Vanderhoof region starting next year over a two year period.” This particular area of land has been hit hard twice in recent years.

Big biomass (Podcast)

Carbon-neutral or worse than coal?

New Internationalists Blog

August 19, 2013

Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Region: International

European and UK policy on biomass assumes that using biomass to produce electricity is carbon-neutral. But when trees are burnt in power stations they instantly release the carbon that they have been absorbing and storing for decades. The CO2 that is added to the atmosphere increases global warming now and it will take decades if not centuries, for an equivalent amount of CO2 to be reabsorbed by any new trees planted.

General

Learning how to log for fun and profit

August 20, 2013

Category: Uncategorised

In a corner of northern Vancouver Island, prospective loggers are learning how to climb trees, set tail blocks and choke logs. The area is called “the playground,” but the training is serious business. Not only are the students learning how to do a dangerous job safely under the watchful eyes of trainers, they’re being paid by a B.C. forestry company while they complete the seven-week course, with a high likelihood they’ll later be hired. Western Forest Products (WFP) began offering the seven-week course in September 2012 and has thus far trained 18 students. The company has since hired 14 of those graduates.